Riley Keough’s Response to the 'Nepo Baby' Debate Is Drastically Different Than Some of Her Peers

From Kate Hudson to Jack Quaid and Jamie Lee Curtis, many of Hollywood’s veteran actors and rising stars are kids from celebrity parents, aka “nepo-babies.” And as we’ve taken note of that pattern year after year, those celeb heirs have spoken out, either defending their position in the industry or acknowledging the privilege they’ve had because of it.

In a new interview with Riley Keough, aka Lisa Marie Presley‘s daughter and Elvis Presley‘s granddaughter, she gave fans a breath of fresh air with how humbly she shared her side of the debate.

“I’m sure being Elvis’s granddaughter has made it easier for me to get an agent, to have meetings and all this stuff, when I started out,” Keough, who got her big break in the industry in her starring role in the 2023 Prime Video series Daisy Jones & The Six, told Elle.

“I know there’s so much nepo-baby stuff at the moment [and] I certainly acknowledge that aspect of the privilege of coming where I come from,” she continued. “I’m not an idiot! I’m aware of privilege in an acute way.”

In fact, Keough went on to share that her late mother, who passed away in 2023 at 54 years old, encouraged her not to get into the industry.

“I felt like I was getting into something that could go terribly wrong,” Keough said. “[My mum] would say to me: ‘If you’re going to do this, you have to be so good at what you do, or else nobody’s going to take you seriously, you’re not going to get any jobs and it’s going to be embarrassing. You don’t want to be an embarrassing celebrity kid!’ She ingrained that into me and my brother so deeply.”

Despite the warning signs from her mom and her dad, singer Danny Keough, Keough pursued acting and has now been pursuing singing after her success in Daisy Jones.

Of course, Keough’s thoughts on being a “nepo baby” is almost a relief to her fans. Previously, celebrities like Emma Roberts and Lily-Rose Depp have totally missed the point.

“People like to say, ‘Oh, you know, you have a leg up because you’re a family in the industry.’ But then the other side to that is, you know, you have to prove yourself more,” Roberts said on the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast, per CNN. “Also, if people don’t have a good experience being to be with other people in your family, then you’ll never get a chance.”

“It’s weird to me to reduce somebody to the idea that they’re only there because it’s a generational thing,” Depp told Elle. “It just doesn’t make any sense. If somebody’s mom or dad is a doctor, and then the kid becomes a doctor, you’re not going to be like, ‘Well, you’re only a doctor because your parent is a doctor.’ It’s like, ‘No, I went to medical school and trained.’”

Luckily, Keough’s comments weren’t that tone-deaf.

Before you go, click here to see more celebrities from famous families.